Year of Blood
by Ryouga Battousai
Summary: A Ranma Soul Calibur crossover. I got this idea from another fic, and decided to expand on it. Circles around Ryouga and Ranma, no pairings yet though, but will probably be Ran&Ak and Ryo&Uk, but I may not put romance in here, C&C welcome!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer - I don't own Ranma, or Soul Calibur. I don't own any characters from these two series, even though sometimes I wish I did! I'd like to thank Namco for creating such an awesome series, and Takahashi-san for creating Ranma ½. I don't know where I'd be without it. Enjoy the story!

For centuries I have rested here. Many have tried to claim me as there own. Samurais, Greek Warriors, Nationals, Priestesses, Ninjas. Only two have ever successfully held me. The first a feared pirate. Yes, how I enjoyed being under his control. With him, we slaughtered many innocents, a never ending feast of souls. However, my time with him was short, as he was defeated by two mere girls. Yet even as his corpse lay near his ruined vessel, I lived on. It was then I sensed another madness, one that rivaled, and with time could even surpass, that of the pirates. A young German boy wielding a Zwheinhander sword approached the dead pirate, no doubt lured here by tales of an invincible weapon.

It was then I decided to test the youths strength. I reanimated the pirates body, using it as a vessel of my will. I battled this boy for what seemed like hours, and in the end he defeated me. It was then that I knew this child would be the perfect source of madness from which I could destroy this pathetic world. Thinking his opponent dead, the boy reached for the sword the pirate used, not knowing who his true enemy was. It was when he grasped the swords, no my, hilt when I struck. The boy watched in horror as I slowly began to warp his body, and twist his soul. Soon, I had found the source of his madness, the image of him holding his dead father's head. That memory was carefully buried in his mind, and it was a scene he had altered. The boy had convinced himself someone else murdered his father. By this time, the boy had been completely dominated by my will, and my hunger. Together we would spread fear throughout Europe as the Azure Knight, destroying countless villages and claiming many souls.

However, my reign of terror was ended abruptly by a man from the East, and a girl from China. The man defeated my Azure Knight, and the girl…that damned girl. She was the one who wielded that damnable weapon, Soul Calibur. Because of her, I was shattered, and broken. Yet, my knight had not failed me. Years later, he began to collect my parts, and complete me. But to my surprise, upon my completion he cast me into a deep chasm, and forever guarded my resting place.

But now he is dead, and I am beginning to stir. I can sense another, one more troubled soul. A soul drenched in sadness, rage and depression. Perhaps with this one, I can sedate my endless hunger. Now I will rise again, and with no Soul Calibur to stop me, the world will once again fear the demon weapon Soul Edge.

Year of Blood - A Ranma ½ / Soul Calibur Crossover

"Raining, again. How many times must I be made to travel through the rain?" the man named Ryouga Hibiki asked to no one in particular, hoping the rain wouldn't soak through his cloak and trigger his curse. Times had been rough on Ryouga. Once again, he had been humbled by Ranma, but not only that, he had heard Akane's confession the night after. He had been trying to find his backpack after his crushing defeat at the hands of Ranma when he found himself lost in the park, and at dusk no less. It was then that he heard it, those words that will forever drive him like hammers into the depths of despair.

"I…I love Ranma"

Ryouga had thought he was hearing things at first. He checked to make sure he was awake in typical Ryouga fashion (bashing his head against a tree, which collapsed and fell right on his face by the way.) when Akane heard the commotion and came to investigate.

"Ryouga-kun? What are you doing here?" Akane asked, not even bothering to ask about his injuries from his battle against Ranma.

"Ah…Akane-san. I….um….well, you see…Akane, I lo.." Ryouga was suddenly cut off by Akane taking him into a tight embrace, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Oh, Ryouga-kun. I finally did it, I admitted to myself that I love Ranma. But I never thought it would hurt me this much," Akane cried, resting her head against his chest.

Ryouga was completely dumbfounded. He had no idea what to do. As if constantly being beaten by Ranma wasn't enough, having his one true love admit her feelings for his bitter enemy was the final nail in the coffin. Ryouga could not only hear his heart shatter, but could feel the cracks in his spirit. His will broken, he broke off the embrace and collapsed on the ground.

"A…Akane-san….I…am happy for you," Ryouga looked up at Akane, smiling slightly, but tears starting to form in his eyes. He couldn't keep eye contact with her though. It was too painful. He couldn't handle this final defeat. He was truly happy for Akane, because Ryouga did truly love her. However, before Akane could respond, he acted.

"Akane-san, I must leave now. Farewell, my love," Ryouga said as he darted off, wiping the tears from his eyes. Akane wasn't even able to respond.

"Did he just call me his love? Oh, Ryouga-kun, I pray that I'll be able to see you again," Akane muttered as she collapsed on the ground, in tears.

That was three weeks ago. Ryouga was certain now that he was forgotten,. Many times during these past weeks he contemplated suicide, but shrugged the notion off. He couldn't do it, that would mean Ranma had won completely, and totally. As long as he was still alive, somehow he could defeat Ranma

"I swear it, by whatever means, I will defeat Saotome! I will make him feel my pain, my suffering!" Ryouga announced to no one but himself, or so he thought.

"Do you truly mean that?" An unfamiliar voice asked Ryouga. Ryouga looked around, his guard up. He was certain that no one was around. He knew that he was lost in the mountains of Japan, and no one besides himself was crazy enough to come here.

"No, boy. You aren't in the mountains of Japan. In fact, your in Europe. Near my resting place," The voice told Ryouga, with something of….excitement…in it's voice. Ryouga finally figured it out, the voice was in his head. So, he'd finally gone insane. It must have been his last encounter with Akane, forced him over the edge. Well, no need to listen to weird voices, Ryouga thought. He began to unpack his tent for the night, and maybe start a fire and get some dinner.

"Don't shrug me off, boy," the voice echoed through Ryouga's head. Anger and hate was all he could feel, like this voice somehow had infected his mind. Then pain hit him, and it was at this point when Ryouga Hibiki knew that the voice wasn't birthed from his depression, sadness and anger.

"Yes, you have much anger in you…towards this being known as Saotome. And a sadness of constant rejection. And what is this? Oh, a failed love from this girl called Akane Tendo. Yes, my friend. You'll do very nicely," the voice echoed in Ryouga's head. He couldn't stop it. What did it mean by "do nicely"?

Suddenly the ground began to shake. A deep chasm erupted near Ryouga's campsite. Ryouga began to feel his body move against his will, taking him towards the chasm. "Oh god! I'm going to jump in?" he thought to himself, but then smiled at the irony of it all. "That vow, my determination to defeat Saotome, all for nothing because some stupid voice has commanded me to jump into a bottomless pit. Is this the end of your cruel joke towards me, God? So be it, end my life so I may rest in Hell," Ryouga resigned to himself.

"Oh no, boy, you will not die. You'll become something far more powerful than you could imagine. Look, for now I shall reveal myself to you!" As soon as the voice said this, a huge beam of light emerged from the chasm, and lit up the sky as if trying to tear it in two. Suddenly, a large, almost organic sword emerged. Ryouga looked on in horror, and small curiosity, at the magnificent weapon. He almost jumped when he saw an eye emerge from it's center.

"Now, my champion! Grasp my hilt, and together we will cover this world in blood!" (extra points to whomever can figure out where this line was inspired from!) As if it were his destiny, Ryouga grasped the sword. He could feel it, the power, the anger, the hatred, sadness and the thirst for revenge. The flames of vengeance began to consume his soul, and all he could hear was the maniacal laughing of the sword. Then there was blackness.

He awoke three days later in the center of a destroyed town. He didn't know where he was, only that the smell of blood was heavy here. Then he saw it. The destruction and death, and for some reason he knew he was the cause. He looked for the sword, hoping this was just a dream, but then he saw it, in his right hand. The sword was bathed in blood, the blood of innocents.

"You've done well, my champion. The souls of this Russian village have sedated my hunger, for now." Yes, the voice that spoke to him. It was, warmer now, like the voice of an old friend. Ryouga looked at the bodies of their victims. Women, children, men. None were spared. And he didn't feel a shred of remorse. In fact, he enjoyed it. He remembered the madness, and wished for it to return, so he may bathe in it, relish it. Then one thought entered his mind, one consuming desire. That desire was for Ranma Saotome's blood, and his soul.

Ryouga let out a maniacal laughter as he looked at his surroundings, and said one sentence before vanishing.

"Ranma Saotome, this time I hunt you not for what you did to me, or for honor, this time I hunt you to kill you, to devour your soul and damn you to an eternity of everlasting pain within my cursed sword!"

Ryouga and his new companion Soul Edge set out for their new destination, Tokyo, Japan. The Nerima district. This would be the beginning of what would later be known as the Year of Blood.

Authors Notes: Phew, prologue done! I remember reading a one chapter fanfic about Soul Edge in the Ranmaverse, and decided to expand upon it. I plan on expanding this, but I have no real idea when the next chapter will be out, so please bear with me! Please, give me some constructive criticism and your ideas on this fanfic, I thrive on this stuff, and am really eager to see what you all think! Until next time. 


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I don't own Soul Calibur, nor do I own Ranma. If I ever claim to, then I will offer Nightmare my soul and face the wrath of a Shishi Hokodan. Enjoy! 

She had lived a long, long time. And only twice in her life had she known fear. The first time was right before her first true battle. And the second time is now. At first she thought the paranoia of old age had caught up with her, but then she realized what she felt couldn't be paranoia. That true, pure evil that she felt that night two weeks ago. She had thought the stories weren't real, that they were just tales older warriors told the young to keep their ambitions in check. But now she knew the truth, and for the first time in her life, Cologne wept. She wept for those that would be slain, but most of all, she wept for those she knew and loved. She wept for her son-in-law, for that blind fool, Mousse, and most of all for her granddaughter and her one time pupil. For know she knew that the aura that the evil bonded with was his, and by now it may be too late to save him…

Ranma ½ / Soul Calibur - Year of Blood

Chapter 1 - Reunions

It had been the end of one lousy day for Ukyou Kuonji. No rest at all today, it seemed like there was an unending rush. She was happy for the business and all, but sometimes it just got too extreme.

"I need to get away, take a vacation or I'm gonna fall apart!" Ukyou thought aloud. She tentatively remembered her last "vacation" to the Cave of Lost Loves. That vacation ended up being more of a heartache than anything else, due to that jackass pal of hers Ryouga.

"Speaking of Ryouga, I wonder where he went. I haven't seen him in almost five weeks," Ukyou was beginning to worry for her friend. Sure, he was a stupid jackass, but he was nice, kind and well, a pal. And Ukyou would rather damn herself then lose a good friend.

"Ranchan might know where he is. (yawn) I'll head over there in the morning, I need to get some sleep," Ukyou thought as she stumbled up to her room. If anyone knew where Ryouga was, it was Ranma, and even if he didn't, Ryouga would no doubt come looking for Ranma soon enough.

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He awoke to find himself near some old docks. In front of him was a corpse. He moved closer to it and found it had only been dead for a few hours now. Blood was everywhere, but that's not what caught his eyes. The sword next to the corpse, the desire to grab it over came him. He found himself reaching for the sword, when the corpse shot up, covered in flames. Instinctively he grabbed his own weapon, and after a mighty battle, he slew the beast. When the flames died, he looked at his own sword, then cast it aside.  
He could hear the voice now, it was frightful at first, booming. It commanded him to take the sword of his fallen opponent. He did so as if it were natural, and then horror struck him. He saw it, the sword began to grow on him, began to merge with his body. He tried to scream as he felt the darkness take his soul, but all he could muster was a whimper. He heard dark laughter in his head as his mind was consumed. Then he began to laugh manically as the darkness warped his body, as the power the sword bestowed overtook him.

What was left of the boy now looked up, his dark hair no longer obscuring his face. His dark green eyes flashed in the cool night, and he grinned evilly, allowing two small fangs to poke out from under his lips. He then let out a howl and ran off into the night.

Ryouga Hibiki awoke in a cold sweat, again. This was the third nightmare tonight, each one was the same. He glanced over at his pack, and was relieved to see that Soul Edge was still there. He had this nagging feeling in his mind that he should destroy the sword then and there, and be done with it. But he always came back to the bliss the sword brought him, the madness that soothed his mind.

He tossed aside his sleeping bag and grabbed the sword. "I haven't really trained enough with you. If I'm going to defeat Ranma, I'll need as much practice as I can get." Resting the sword on his right shoulder, Ryouga walked far enough away from his campsite so that he wouldn't cause any unnecessary collateral damage, but close enough so he could fend off and critters that may decide to raid his food supply.

"Alright, sword, let's begin," Ryouga stated, almost coldly. He began by just attempting to swing the massive blade. It was much heavier than he originally anticipated. Hell, the only time he actually used the sword in combat he was unconscious and could only assume the blade had taken control of his body.

"So, if the sword can take control of me, I wonder why it hasn't," Ryouga asked himself as he continued to practice. The sword became lighter with every swing, almost as if his body were remembering how to use it.

"Yes, my champion, your learning quite quickly," Soul Edge had once again entered Ryouga's mind, and he welcomed it. It had been a very lonely three days without his companion speaking too him, feeding his blissful madness.

"It's almost as if I'm remembering how to use you, like I've wielded you before," Ryouga said, eagerness in his voice. This was good, if he could continue to master Soul Edge this quickly, it would only be a matter of days before he saw Saotome dead at his feet, with Soul Edge feasting on his hated rivals soul.

"Hmm, this one is strong, he has much more potential than the last boy, however…if this Saotome is as strong as he says," Soul Edge began thinking to itself. Many believe that Soul Edge is just a cursed sword that twists the mind of it's user and eats souls. That is a common misconception. Soul Edge is a demon, it's alive. The sword has a will of it's own, even if that will is dominated by the desire to eat souls. However, Soul Edge also enjoys taking the purest, strongest warrior and warping them into a creature of darkness.

"Soon, I'll get to see for myself if this Saotome is as powerful as my champion claims him to be, but for now we must concentrate on training and regaining my former power," Soul Edge concluded, concentrating now on molding Ryouga into his new champion on darkness. For good or ill, Saotome would be dealt with soon enough.

Speaking of Saotome…

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"Aw, c'mon Mousse! It wasn't even my fault! Shampoo was the one that latched on to me!" Ranma tried in vain to explain the situation to Mousse. It was hopeless though, as Ranma knew very well. Mousse is about as stupid as he is near-sighted.

"Silence, Saotome! Today is the day I defeat you and win Shampoo's heart!" Mousse proclaimed, his fighting spirit fueled only by his love for Shampoo.

"All right, man. If you insist, I guess I'll start to get serious," Ranma stopped evading, and suddenly disappeared. Mousse looked around franticly, but couldn't sense his opponent anywhere. Suddenly he felt a thousand sharp blows against his back.

"C'mon, Mousse! I practically telegraphed you that move! Don't tell me you're slippin' now," Ranma taunted his opponent. He hasn't really had much in the way of good fights since the last time Ryouga was in town, and even though Ranma won, it was a grueling battle.

"Man, bacon-breath needs to come back," Ranma muttered to himself as he allowed Mousse the time he needed to recover. Thinking back to that fight a few weeks ago also brought up some other questions. Akane had been acting really weird since Ryouga left, she hardly looked at Ranma, or spoke to him. There had been a lack of malleting these past few weeks, so that was something to be grateful for.

Ranma's train of thought was broken by many quick sword swipes. Mousse was in an all-out assault, and even if he was no where near Ranma's level, Ranma would have to at least half dodge if he wanted to keep his head.

"Hey! Not bad duck boy!" Ranma taunted. Clearly Mousse was getting angry, and an angry opponent is as easy to defeat as a baby.

"I will end your taunts, Saotome, by severing your head!" Mousse cried, swinging his sword with all his strength and speed.

"Maaaan, that was kinda close!" Ranma exclaimed from his new perch on top of Mousse's head.

"You were really tryin' to kill me there man, so I guess I'll start to get serious!" Ranma jumped off Mousse's head, and with one swift kick disarmed his opponent. Without his weapons Mousse wasn't much, however the guy has a never-ending supply of them, so the trick is to close in and not give him a chance to rearm himself, something Ranma excelled at.

"Alright! Here I go!" Ranma exclaimed as he closed the gap between himself and Mousse. At this distance, Mousse had nowhere to dodge, and sat helpless as countless blows were rained onto his chest and stomach. His suffering was short, however, ad Ranma finished the fight with one quick uppercut. Mousse hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Man, that took longer than expected. Damn! It's past dinner time already? Man, Mousse, if there ain't any food left, I'm gonna hold you to it man!" Ranma shouted as he quickly left the area, using the trademark roof bounding to get home quickly.

Ranma arrived home about five minutes later, however that five minutes was all Genma Saotome needed to devour his son's would-be dinner and prepare for the onslaught that would ensue.

"Boy! You're letting your training slip. Don't tell me you couldn't make it home in time for dinner. What kind of martial artist are you?" Genma mocked his son, as well as taking a defensive stance.

"Well, Pops, duck boy held me up for a few minutes," Ranma shot an icy glare at his father. "After such a rotten day, to have my food stolen from me," Ranma thought with righteous anger filling his body.

"You let Mousse stall you? You're getting rusty boy, I'll have to retrain you from the begin---" Genma was cut off as Ranma began his relentless attack. He barely had enough time to block Ranma's beginning blows.

"Alright Pops! You've stolen my dinner for the last time! Moko Takabisha!" Ranma blasted his father with his confidence-backed chi blast. Genma never saw it coming, and took a one way trip to the Koi pond.

"Heh heh heh…that outta teach ya!" Ranma proclaimed in victory. In actuality, he knew that by this time next week, a similar problem would occur, but he wasn't going to let that get him down today. "Man, I'm starting to feel like Ryouga here, maybe I just need to take a bath and get some rest," Ranma mumbled to himself, preparing to make his way upstairs.

"Hey! Ranchan! You around?"

The voice was undeniably Ukyou's, and Ranma wasn't about to skip out on his oldest friend. "Hey, Ucchan! Yeah, I'm here. Hold on, I'll let ya in."

Ranma made his way to the front gate, wondering why Kasumi or even Akane hadn't let Ukyou in. "Well, Akane has been actin' all weird since Ryouga left, but I wonder what's wrong with Kasumi," Ranma didn't have much time to dwell on this thought, because no sooner had he Ukyou in he noticed another presence.

"What do you want this time, Old Ghoul?" Ranma ordered, more than asked. Ukyou just stood in astonishment, thinking Ranma had finally cracked.

"Good, it's good to see your senses aren't slipping, son-in-law. Because, if I'm right about this, you'll need to be at your best," Cologne responded, jumping down from the tree she had been inhabiting.

But before Cologne could tell Ranma anything, Ukyou was the first to speak. "Ranchan, have you seen Ryouga? I mean, he's been gone much longer than usual!"

"Actually, child, that's why I've come here," Cologne said grimly. Ranma noticed her expression, and instantly knew something was wrong.

"What's happened to Ryouga now?" Ranma asked, much more forceful than usual.

"Let us go inside, son-in-law. Bring the Kounji girl with you, we have much to talk about," with that, Cologne, Ranma and Ukyou entered the Tendo household. Cologne wondering how she was going to present the news of Ryouga losing his soul to Ranma and Ukyou….

Author's Notes - Okay! I know it's been a really, really, really, really, really long time since I updated or anything, but I had a really busy end to last semester, plus I took a month to study abroad in Japan, and I've been working almost non-stop since I got back! But I promise I'll be continuing the story as long as at least one person reads! And if no one reads it….I'll probably continue it anyways! Yay!


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